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My brother's computer has internet issues after a hack—what should we do?

January 6, 2026 5 answers
Asked by TechWizard89
Hey everyone, I need some help with a situation my brother is in. He got involved in a Discord call with some people he thought were friends and discussed some stuff he didn't understand—specifically, he remembers them mentioning a 'backdoor.' A few weeks later, while he was gaming, his internet crashed, and his computer name was changed to a slur. Now, he can't access the internet at all, not even through Wi-Fi. He can see search results on Google, but when he clicks on any links, it just loads infinitely and eventually throws an error. We've already done a complete reset of his computer and reinstalled a clean version of Windows 11, but the problem persists. We've spent hours looking for solutions online, including using GPT for assistance, but nothing has worked so far. Any ideas or solutions would be greatly appreciated. Just for context, my brother isn't a kid; he just didn't know better at the time.
computer reset hacking internet issues System Operations tech support troubleshooting

Answers

CyberSleuth12
You might want to check if the router's firmware was tampered with. Factory reset the router immediately, and update the firmware if necessary. It's crucial to protect against any unauthorized access moving forward!
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NetNinja45
Don't overlook the router! It might have been compromised if he was hacked. Doing a factory reset on the router and setting a new, secure password right away is essential. Make sure he doesn't connect his computer to any network until it's fully wiped clean.
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GadgetGuru33
It sounds like there might be some deeper issues at play here. First, try to determine whether this problem is isolated to his specific computer or affects other devices too. If he has multiple devices, check if they can connect to the internet without issues. Also, connecting the computer to a different network (like using a mobile hotspot) can help narrow down where the problem lies. As for the reset, if you did a simple Windows reset instead of a full format, malware could still persist. When in doubt, a clean install via a USB with the hard drive fully formatted is the safest bet.
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SecuritySeeker77
Just a heads up: if the hackers accessed his computer, they might also have messed with the router settings. I'd recommend changing the router password and everything else he uses—like email and game accounts—just to be safe.
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TechGuide91
Lastly, make sure you’re changing not just the router password but also his IP address. A factory reset should do the trick. After that, it would be wise to change passwords for all his accounts since the breach could’ve compromised those too.
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